The Gram stain is a well-known, commonly used microbiological technique for the detection, classification, and identification of microorganisms, especially bacteria. The most common method of the Gram staining involves four steps: staining, trapping, decolorizing, and counterstaining. The Gram stain as commonly used in histology laboratories is known to be inconsistent, in particular, as a result of variability in the decolorizing step. Variables affecting the decolorizing step include solvent strength, concentration, volume, and duration of exposure. During manual Gram staining procedures, the decolorizing step routinely uses alcohol or acetone, and the step only takes a matter of seconds. However, for automated staining procedures, this decolorizing process occurs too quickly. This disclosure addresses the issues of Gram stain decolorizing on an automated staining platform.